Tea parties inspire community connections

Beth Bridewell

During the summer, tea parties were held across England as part of our nationwide 4tea event to raise money for United Response whilst bringing communities together.

A huge thank you goes out to everybody that got involved, every penny raised really does make a difference. The tea parties included office bake sales, a chocolate making workshop, school fetes, garden parties and a Zumba session. Here we take a closer look at some of the events:

In Suffolk, organisers held a tea morning in a village hall which was filled with plenty of stalls, many of which were hired out by members of the local community who sold their own crafts. Staff, the people supported in Suffolk and their parents ran a ‘guess the name of the monkey’ stall and a ‘guess the fastest car in the world’ stall. Thanks to their efforts, they raised over £300. All the more rewarding were the new connections with the community as 50 people attended and raffle prizes were donated by local traders.

In Liverpool, our local services were inspired to put on a ‘health event’ as part of 4tea – yes even a tea party can be healthy! Lunch included vegetable dips, low calorie sandwiches and a few ‘teeny weenie’ cakes. Guests did spend the morning taking part in a lively Zumba session so the cakes were well earned! Also in attendance from the community was a massage therapist, a nail technician and agencies providing advice on health and wellbeing. The successful event meant that new contacts were made between the people we support and the community, including an offer of cookery courses and more Zumba sessions.

Around 60 people attended a successful 4tea event at Chorley cricket club, including Lindsay Hoyle MP and the Mayor of Chorley, where cupcakes and a buffet tea were served. Further connections were made with the locals who are interested in volunteering at future events, and with Morrison’s where a gentleman supported by United Response has been an employee for 21 years.

Over £300 was raised in North Somerset as over 100 people attended the local YMCA for a ‘summer fair’ themed 4tea party. The organisers had lots of help from the community who were more than happy to donate cakes. Activities included face painting, a tombola, a book sale, biscuit decorating and of course ample amounts of tea and coffee. United Response’s service in North Somerset hope to use the money raised to start monthly art classes.

We are really grateful to everyone for taking part in this year’s 4tea, some other mentions go out to BioRegional who held an office bake sale, Amber who held a ‘Wellbeing’ workshop, Carshalton High School who held a 4tea stall and Caroline who raised money for our Movers and Shakers project.

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